Fire destroyed a home on Bitney Springs Road late Thursday night. Penn Valley Fire Chief Don Wagner says it started in the garage, which also went up in smoke. And a number of other notable belongings were also torched…

click to listen to Chief Wagner

Wagner says about half-an-acre of nearby vegetation was also burned. And conditions were challenging to putting out the blaze. That included strong winds that helped spread it more quickly, since the fairly new, single-story, three-thousand square-foot home was on a ridge. There was also a mile-long driveway to get to the fire and no hydrants. So Wagner says they kept running out of water. Meanwhile, the occupants, who reported the fire, had not been located, as of mid-day Friday…

click to listen to Chief Wagner

Wagner says it does not appear to be a suspicious fire. But the exact cause is still being investigated.